Jun. 1--The Chapel Hills Mall Kmart store is closing, ending a 27-year run as one of the mall's anchor tenants.

Kim Freely, a spokeswoman for Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart, said 49 employees will lose their jobs. Freely said the store, at 1770 Briargate Blvd., is being closed for she called "business reasons."

Chapel Hills is the fourth local Kmart to close in the past 12 years, following locations at Citadel Crossing in 2003, Fountain in 2002 and Circle and Fountain in 1997. Only two Kmarts remain in the area, at 5885 Palmer Park Blvd. and 3020 N. Nevada Ave. The

Chapel Hills Kmart has been one of the mall's anchor tenants since it opened in 1982.

Chapel Hills still has plenty of shopper traffic and a bright future, said David Moss, the mall's general manager. JC Penney, Sears, Dillard's, Burlington Coat Factory and Macy's remain as anchor tenants.

"We're still vibrant, we still have tons of shoppers," he said. "We're currently out there actively pursuing future tenants or those who want to expand."

While a new tenant is a possibility, don't expect major changes at the mall, said Jim Graham, a spokesman for General Growth Properties, which owns the mall. Most new development is stalled, he said. General Growth itself declared bankruptcy in April.

"Throughout the commercial real estate market, the pace of development and redevelopment has slowed dramatically because of credit markets and the current recession," Graham said. "We at GGP have delayed or stopped most development projects."

The closing is a blow to Chapel Hills Mall, but it may have been in the cards. Sears and Kmart merged in 2005, leading many industry watchers to speculate that one of the brands would eventually vanish. Chapel Hills was the only local retail development with both stores.

"I can't say I don't understand their logic in keeping their main store Sears and shuttering the Kmart," Moss said.

The store is now selling its inventory.

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